Corporate Travels

Last week, I embarked on my first business trip to Beijing with the rest of my team. Business travel in Asia is absolutely in another stratesphere.

First, my MDs and VPs travel so much around the world that they're all diamond plus members on Cathay Pacific (the airline that flies in/out Hong Kong exclusively). With their diamond plus membership, I was able to join them in the first class lounge. It was absolutely something else. There are gourmat food, fine champagne, excellent service, internet, comfortable couches, even showers and rooms for sleeping, all for free. When I asked for the restroom from one of the waitresses, she showed me a room with beds rather than a bathroom. The luxury of business travel in Asia is really something else.

The Hotel we stayed at - the Park Hyatt in Beijing - is probably the nicest hotel I have ever been. The rooms were gorgeously designed - everything was perfectly made. The great part is, it was CNY1,300 - a little over $200 USD. You cannot get this type of quality with that much in New York. Not even close.
http://beijing.park.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

After check-in, the team went to celebrate our MD's birthday at the rooftop bar. Everything was beautifully decorated and it seemed a piece of western seclusion in the bustling town of Beijing.

However, Corporate travel does have its downsides. In one day, we managed to squeeze in 3 2-hour meetings with three different clients. In transit, we managed to get a ticket because the license plate was the wrong license plate for the day in Beijing (in Beijing, only certain licenses can come out during certain days to limited the traffic). Even then, we sat in traffic for over 2 hours to the airport. We barely made our 8:30PM flight even though we were done with meetings by 5:30PM. Thank goodness because it was the last flight out of Beijing for Hong Kong.

My MD and VP were scheduled for the 7:30PM flight - however, since they were triple diamond members, they managed to get on the 8:30PM flight, business class. I don't even know who they bumped to get those seats. All I know is the ladies at the CX counters were freaking out during check-in when they realized their MarcoPolo status.

While the luxury of corporate travel was something I have never seen before, I don't envy those who have to do this. It was truly exhausting. I did not get home until past 1AM. If I had a family like some of the senior bankers, I wonder when I would actually have time to spend with my family.